Valerie Skakun, Ridgewood ArtistValerie Skakun was doing just fine a few years ago. The Ridgewood resident’s textile-dyeing business, April May June, was taking off, and she took what her grandma taught her about sewing and refin...

Uri Cohen, Queens College HillelQueens College has approximately 4,000 Jewish students on campus, according to Uri Cohen, executive director of the Queens College Hillel. But each of them has his or her own story, background and ...

Hector Batista, CEO/Big Brothers Big SistersHector Batista is celebrating National Mentoring Month in a big way. The CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, the country’s first youth mentoring organization, opened up new offices th...

Ari Hoffnung, CEO/Vireo Health of NYAs the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Queens this past weekend, Ari Hoffnung, CEO of Vireo Health of New York has a message: they are not selling joints or pot brownies. The Minnesota...

Shamsul Haque, Vice Chair/BAPAShamsul Haque is a Bangladeshi American police officer who is also Muslim. And he sees no problem with that. “I don’t see personally any conflict between our religion and our country because the Am...

Bill Weisberg, ForestdaleFor William “Bill” Weisberg, his end goal is ending child poverty. Weisberg is the new executive director of Forestdale, a direct family service organization in Forest Hills. He succeeds Anstiss Ag...

Margie Ray, Ebbets Field ResidentOn the first Tuesday of every month, a truck pulls up in the parking lot of the seven-building housing complex called Ebbets Field. The site used to be home to Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, befor...

Feniosky Pena-Mora, DDC CommissionerFeniosky Pena-Mora wants to build a pipeline. The Columbia University professor-turned-agency commissioner created the STEAM Initiatives division, led by Deputy Commissioner Lee Llambelis, in Novem...

George Garland, GO! TennisGeorge Garland, owner of GO! Tennis, is running a Junior Holiday Tennis Camp in a few weeks. The camp will be held for up to 45 children of all ages and skill sets. After 13 years as tennis directo...

Claudia P. Marulanda Gomez, ArtistClaudia P. Marulanda Gomez, an artist from Colombia living in Briarwood, recently opened her first exhibition at an art gallery in Manhattan. Her exhibition featured her inspiring work under the ul...

Sean Price - Chairman, Shannon Gaels GAAThe Shannon Gaels GAA club gathered more than 400 members at the Terrace on the Park for its 13th Annual Dinner Dance, an end-of-the-year celebration of the club’s achievements. And the organizatio...

John Raskin, Riders AllianceGetting to LaGuardia Airport is so difficult by public transportation that transportation activists and Rider's Alliance Director John Raskin says it's almost like the MTA and LaGuardia are activel...

Anne Victoria Clark, ComedianWhile few among us haven’t spent a weekend binge-watching a TV series, Astoria comedian Anne Victoria Clark is rare among binge-watchers in that she’s putting the lazy Sunday routine to good use. H...